22 March 2011

For any who may be interested, I am working on a project of compiling great LDS architecture, as well as working on a history of LDS meetinghouses. My belief is that the greatest architectural legacy of the LDS Church is in the Meetinghouse designs. With the exception of a few wonderful publications, very little research has been done to document our Meetinghouse heritage. Especially when compared to the Temples.

The initial effort will be to document buildings and sites that are currently still in use. Obviously this will not be a comprehensive effort, but at my discretion will highlight those buildings I deem to be significant or representative of good work. Suggestions are always welcome. Other efforts will include those buildings no longer in use, sold or demolished, as well as documenting typical building types and styles as part of the current Standard Plan program for Meetinghouses, Temples, and Institutes.

Rather than waiting until I have done all the research on a particular building, I will be posting information and images as I obtain them, so it will be an active site with daily postings. Where possible, I will be documenting not just a static point in time of each building, but the history of the building and site through time. The original design; the additions and remodels; the demolitions. This life-cycle story telling will be a reminder of our past and hopefully a guide towards an even better architectural future.

9 comments:

In its list of local church architecture, a Boston guide described the Cambridge ward as having "gross fenestration and an attenuated spire," It would be great to have a response to all the Cambridge wards out there, where local architects and local leadership have build enduring houses of worship

When designing the HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical systems for a Stake Center in Katy, Texas, the architect, an Episcopalian, said to me, "I don't know about the rest of your religion, but whoever designs your meeting houses is definitely inspired". When I asked him how he came to that conclusion, he said,"You get more use per square foot from your churches than any other church. Just by staggering your meetings, you have four different congregations meeting here"

we used to live in Idaho Falls Idaho and attended meetings in the Idaho Falls 9th ward which met in this really cool art-deco chapel. It was dedicated by President Grant, has been remodeled but still retains the sloping chapel and just looks really cool.

I'm documenting unique meetinghouses when I travel--mainly throughout Utah. Hopefully, I can used the diversity I photograph to persuade both my firm and the church officials with whom we work to vary the designs. I'm so tired of the manta-ray building.

I know the BYU Art Museum had a photo exhibit a few years ago concerning LDS meetinghouse architecture. I am not sure if any publications resulted from the exhibit, but it might be an interesting resource to you as you embark on what sounds like a great and needed project.

Thanks for the interesting post! I've really enjoyed the information that has been shown throughout the text in addition to the images that showed. For us of us who are dedicated to the architecture and design we love transmit and communicate our work with groups and individuals who have this passion in common. Thanks again for such wonderful post!

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